Prince’s Sign O’ The Times concert film will be seen in IMAX for the first time next month. IMAX, Mercury Studios and FilmRise have partnered to bring the 1987 companion movie to Prince’s album of the same name to IMAX screens for a limited time starting August 29, 2025. Prince directed Sign O’The Times, which featured Sheila E., Cat Glover, and his post-Revolution band. Sign O’ The Times is Prince’s ninth album and many critics have argued that it is his best. “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” “Adore,” “U Got The Look,” and “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” all came from Sign O’ The Times, which was originally a three-album project until Warner Brothers convinced Prince to make it a double. The film was just as thrilling as the album and the adaptation to the IMAX format will deliver the visuals and sound with greater depth and optical intensity. The full list of theaters showing the film can be found at the IMAX site. 

Kaytranada is going on tour in the fall with electronic duo Justice. They will co-headline the outing that starts October 16th in Vancouver and finishes November 16th in Miami. The tour has flashback vibes because they shared the bill last June in Paris at the Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre. Kaytranada remixed Justice’s Grammy-winning single “Neverender,” which features Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. The tour announcement comes after both artists have released new music. Justice just dropped the “Mannequin Love” EP of remixes. Kaytranada produced Justine Skye’s “Oh Lala” single and FLO’s current single, “The Mood.” Presale tickets for the tour go on sale today and the regular sales start this Friday.  

Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist are following up their Alfredo album with Alfredo 2. Today they share “1995” from the project and Alfredo: The Movie. A select group of fans attended a screening of the film yesterday at Brain Dead Studios in Los Angeles. Nick Walker directed the movie, which takes place in Japan and sees the rapper and producer playing the roles of noodle masters and underworld bad guys. Gibbs has been comfortable in front of the camera since his critically acclaimed performance in Down With The King. Alfredo 2 will be released this Friday, five years after they debuted Alfredo. One hundred fans were able to procure signed vinyl copies of the album last weekend during an event at HVW8 Gallery in Los Angeles that was sponsored by Rotation, a Black music brand with Amazon. Gibbs raps about his steady come-up that moved him from being a grinding underground rapper to a presence on Netflix in “1995.” The Alchemist has been busy working on an album with Erykah Badu, which shows three decades of relevance as a producer. Alfredo II promises to be as rugged as the Grammy-nominated initial release and “1995” delivers on Gibbs’ brand of no-nonsense, but at times humorous, street-inspired rhymes. 

Slick Rick the Ruler has reemerged with his Victory album after an almost three-decade hiatus. Clocking in at 27 minutes, Rick gives a condensed version of the storytelling that made him a legend in the ’80s. The guest list includes British rapper Giggs, who makes an appearance on the smooth but frantic “Stress.” Nas fulfills a personal dream and joins Rick on the album standout, “Documents.” Rick’s “Landlord” lists some of the headaches of being a New York City property owner with humor, frustration, and resilience. Q-Tip, who had an amazing 2024 producing LL Cool J’s F.O.R.C.E., creates another Gen X moment as the producer of “Another Great Adventure,” which taps the nostalgia of Rick’s 1988 classic debut album.

Idris Elba is an executive producer and his 7Wallace label with Mass Appeal partnered to release Victory. The visual component is a continuous play of vignettes for each song. Victory feels brief and at times thin but legends are always given grace, especially when they are a foundational artist in the genre. The album is another sign along with MC Lyte, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Kwamé, Public Enemy, The Roots, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre, Generation X is not done expressing themselves with hip-hop. In the case of Slick Rick, he triumphs by staying true to his muse instead of pandering to a new generation. He managed to release an album in his sixth decade that still sounds like home.